After 8 cult films, 7 legendary novels and a video game released in 2023, the Harry Potter franchise is one of the best-known andmost beloved in the world. However, there's a shadow over the author JK Rowling due to the controversial stances she takes on transgender issues.
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In 2018, JK Rowling liked a tweet calling trans women 'men in dresses', and it's been a real descent into hot waters for her ever since.
Harry Potter's creator has made one statement after another, and been deemed problematic towards the LGBT community. The majority of the films' actors have since distanced themselves from the author. On April 1, she shared 10 high-profile trans people and then followed up with a biting remark:
April Fools! Only kidding. Obviously, the people mentioned in the above tweets aren't women at all, but men, every last one of them.
Somewhat bizarrely, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appeared to support her views. Now, she's back at it again. Here's what she's said this time.
Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson targeted by J.K Rowling
On April 10, 2024, the author of the cult novel saga responded to an Internet user on X regarding potential apologies from Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, who were the first actors to completely disassociate themselves from the author.
JK Rowling had posted about transitioning children, and another X user @StAustellAdam commented on her post:
Just waiting for Dan and Emma to give you a very public apology... safe in the knowledge that you will forgive them ...
JK Rowling responded with a comment that isn't likely to calm tensions:
Not safe, I'm afraid. Celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women's hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies for traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single sex spaces.
So it's hard to imagine a reunion between the original cast of the film saga and the author of the 7 novels. Last March, another of the author's posts caused controversy by calling into question the persecution of trans people in the 1940s, which caused the trans community to react strongly. Nevertheless, some fans support JK Rowling, and believe that the author is often the target of harassment when she takes a stand.
Actors step back from J.K Rowling
As JK Rowling's statements are considered offensive, some of the star actors of the Harry Potter franchise have distanced themselves from the author by lending their support to the trans community. These include Emma Watson, who spoke out in support of trans people after JK Rowling mocked a news article in 2020 for using the inclusive term 'people who menstruate'.
Watson took to X to make her position clear, writing:
I want my trans followers to know that I and so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are.
The actress urged people who could to donate to charities that support trans women.
Daniel Radcliffe has also spoken out against JK Rowling's views. He has done a great deal for the LGBT movement. In June 2022, the actor wrote an open letter of support to the community, and reaffirmed his commitment in an interview with IndieWire, pointing out that not everyone who has worked on Harry Potter shares JK Rowling's ideas. During the conversation, he explained why he wrote the text: 'I don't think I would've been able to look myself in the mirror had I not said anything.'
Helena Bonham Carter has defended JK Rowling
It should be noted, however, that a number of actors from the Harry Potter saga have defended the author, including Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter. The latter spoke about the reaction to JK Rowling's words in a 2022 interview. She told The Times:
It’s been taken to the extreme, the judgmentalism of people. She’s allowed her opinion, particularly if she’s suffered abuse. Everybody carries their own history of trauma and forms their opinions from that trauma and you have to respect where people come from and their pain. You don’t all have to agree on everything – that would be insane and boring. She’s not meaning it aggressively, she’s just saying something out of her own experience.
The actress was referring to JK Rowling having said in the past that her ex husband emotionally and physically abused her in the early 1990s, using their daughter and her Harry Potter manuscript to force her to stay with him.
JK Rowling has defended her views herself, saying that she is not transphobic. The author has previously said that she respects 'every trans person's right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them'. She had condemned the discrimination and abuse suffered by the trans community, but many believe her comments speak to a different mindset.
She has received both criticism and support for this most recent post. One user, @slipkn0t8, commented: 'You have been a beacon of hope for us ordinary women, bewildered by the speed with which our hard-won rights are being turned back.'
Another, however, pointed out the irony in JK Rowling's novel propelling trans supporters like Watson and Radcliffe into the spotlight. The user, @actual_magic, wrote: 'It hadn't occurred to me before but it is actually very cool that JK accidentally made several very progressive, pro-LGBT people very rich. More power to Emma, Daniel and the rest.'
This article has been adapted from Gentside FR.
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Sources used:
The Guardian: ‘It’s horrendous’: Helena Bonham Carter defends JK Rowling and Johnny Depp
ELLE: Emma Watson Speaks Out Against J.K. Rowling's Anti-Trans Remarks
PinkNews: Fans are furious with JK Rowling for liking tweet calling transgender women ‘men in dresses’
